Most Believe Hillary Clinton Can Relate to Average Americans, Poll Finds

Fifty-five percent of Americans say that Hillary Clinton can relate to and understand the problems of average citizens as well as other presidential candidates can, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll.

Sunday, June 29th 2014, 11:14 AM EDT

NBC News - Fifty-five percent of Americans say that Hillary Clinton can relate to and understand the problems of average citizens as well as other presidential candidates can, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll.

By comparison, 37 percent of respondents disagreed, saying she can’t relate as well as other candidates can. These numbers come after Hillary Clinton declared that she and her husband were “dead broke” after leaving the White House in 2001.

"We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt,” she said to ABC News, answering a question about the six-figure payments she and her husband command when giving paid speeches.

Bill Clinton has defended his wife, telling NBC News' David Gregory: “She’s not out of touch, and she advocated and worked as a senator for things that were good for ordinary people. And before that, all her life – and the people asking her questions should put this into some sort of context – I remember when we were in law school, she was out trying to get legal assistance for poor people. I remember she was working on trying, believing in paid leave for pregnant mothers in the 1970s.”

In a PBS interview, Hillary Clinton expressed regrets over her "dead broke" comments. “Well, I shouldn’t have said the five or so words that I said. But my inartful use of those few words doesn’t change who I am, what I’ve stood for my entire life, what I stand for today.”

“Bill and I have had terrific opportunities, both of us, you know, have worked hard," she said. "But we’ve been grateful for everything that we’ve been able to achieve, and sadly that’s just not true for most Americans today."

The NBC/WSJ/Annenberg poll was conducted June 26-28 of 592 adults, and it has a margin of error of plus-minus 5.1 percentage points.